


Sweet Dreams & Deadly Nightmares

by Tadamochi



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Drabble Collection, Dreams and Nightmares, Ficlet Collection, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Not the Clovis x Nico content this fandom DESERVES but I tried, Sleep Deprivation, The soft sleepy boyfriends need love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-04
Updated: 2018-02-08
Packaged: 2018-10-14 01:04:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10525650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tadamochi/pseuds/Tadamochi
Summary: Clovis' dreams were often filled with wonders and all sorts of chaming things. Nico's were plagued by nightmares. The two of them met in some of them and were used to seeing each other in the realm of sleep. Nico always had a hard time trusting others, being open about his feelings and sharing his problems. Clovis wasn't an exception to this rule, but when he was there his nights seemed less dark.





	1. Gift

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to dontcallmecisorstraight on tumblr for the Clovis/Nico prompts.  
> Thanks Anz for beta reading this thing! Seriously, how can you put up with the messes I write.

Clovis had met Nico in dreams more than once. In pretty much all of those meetings, the son of Hypnos had stepped right into one of Nico’s nightmares. They were a painful thing to experience even in the realm of sleep, but every time he tried to endure the pain and reach out to help Nico, he was pushed back by the demigod’s inner demons.

This was one of those nights. Once again, he was faced with the impenetrable wall of darkness. He could hear screams coming from the inside and, like always, Clovis could do nothing. His hand felt like it was burning the moment he touched the wall.

The moment after that, Clovis woke up. He could still feel the sting under his skin, like some of that… _thing_ was still crawling inside. Clovis would never get used to that, but he’d still try every time.

When he saw the shadows swirl under the dim light of the sheep nightlight, he knew it was the son of Hades. Nico stood in front of Clovis’ bed, tense and looking like a mess.

“Again?” Clovis asked.

Nico simply nodded. It looked like he didn’t feel like talking, and that was okay. Clovis could understand. If what he had felt was just a fraction of it, he couldn’t even begin to imagine how it must have been for Nico. Anyone would find it difficult to talk after having nightmares like those. Besides, Clovis was a patient person and did his best to help him in his own terms.

“You can stay here if you want, there are always free beds in this cabin.” Clovis offered, a hint of worry in his sleepy voice.

This was the first time Nico had showed up in the Hypnos Cabin at night, and they had known each other for a while now. Usually, if he had a nightmare he’d just mention it in the morning, so this one must have been different.

Another nod, that was all Clovis needed to confirm his suspicions. He untangled himself from the sheets and went to fluff the pillow of the empty bed near his. The bed was already as comfortable as it could be, but Clovis thought some extra comfort wouldn’t harm anyone. Then, he remembered something he had been keeping with him that may make him feel a little better.

“I have something for you.” He said as he rummaged through one of his drawers. The son of Hades kept his eyes on the drawer, hoping to see what he meant. “I found this at a thrift store a few days ago, though you’d like it.”

Clovis knew about Nico’s old hobby. They weren’t the closest of friends but he still knew about it and had meant to surprise him with this little gift. It wasn’t much, just an old, faded blanket. The special thing about it is that it had pictures of Mythomagic cards all over it. Some would have said it was pretty ugly, but Nico held it in his hands like it was a treasure. The blanket smelled like fresh laundry and lavender and it was so soft that Nico couldn’t help but rub his cheek against it a little; the texture felt nice against his skin.

“Thank you.” Nico managed to say. His voice sounded hoarse, and Clovis thought that maybe he had woken up screaming. “Seriously, it’s… I love it.” He added, caressing the gift absentmindedly with his fingertips.

“I’m glad you do.” Clovis said, a warm smile on his face.

He still couldn’t comprehend all of Nico’s problems and he never would, but it made him happy to see that, at least in little ways, he could bring some happiness into his life.

“Do you want some milk? I’ve got hot chocolate too.”

“I think if I drink or eat anything right now I’ll throw up…” Nico admitted.

“Okay, then it’s time to sleep.” Clovis said, gesturing to the bed he had prepared. When he saw Nico’s expression, still afraid, he added “Don’t worry, if you’re here with me I can help you keep the bad dreams away”

Nico’s shoulders relaxed and he wrapped himself in his new blanket. He seemed to trust Clovis’ words, or at least that was what Clovis thought when Nico did as he had told him and got into bed.

Deep inside, Clovis felt like he should be able to do more, as a son of Hypnos. He had _felt_ some of what kept Nico up at night, he didn’t wish that sort of pain on anyone. Sleeping close to each other to block out those dreams was only a temporary solution; there was not much else he could do if Nico didn’t want to, these kinds of things had to be dealt with in unpleasant ways.

Clovis promised himself that night that, for as long as Nico let him, he would be there when he needed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since this is my first time writing for this pairing, these will be simple ficlets involving these two. Sorry.


	2. Food

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for sleep paralysis.

The next time Nico had nightmares, they crawled out of his mind.

Terrifying dark figures of impossible anatomy were scratching the floor with their claws. They stared at him as if he were a prey they were going to pounce on at any second. Their hisses were impossible to understand, but they managed to make the son of Hades want to scream to make them stop.

Worst of it all? He couldn’t move or utter any sound. His eyes were wide open and he could do nothing to close them and stop seeing those terrors. This was the real world, he knew. Somehow he wasn’t able to run away from his demons even when his eyes were open.

Clovis was sleeping on the bed next to his, unaware of what was happening. Maybe the son of Hypnos could do nothing when the monsters came out of the dreamscape. Nico wanted to yell for help, and of course he was unable to do that either.

His breaths became more and more uneven as one of the tall shadows crawled towards him. They didn’t look any better from up close. Nico felt like this time they would actually kill him. For a couple of weeks he had believed they were finally gone for good, even though deep inside he knew it wasn’t that easy. Nothing was that easy for him, ever.

Nico’s dreams had been relatively calm during the past two weeks, thanks to Clovis who had offered to help him and give him a bed in the Hypnos cabin if he needed it. His was far away from the other members of the cabin so he wouldn’t be that uncomfortable. Clovis was close enough to keep the nightmares away, except that didn’t work today.

The world turned into a blurred mess. Perhaps it was his body trying to make the shapes go away; at this point he didn’t know what was going on anymore.

“ _Nico._ ” He heard, a familiar voice cutting through. “Nico, I’m here.”

He felt a hand being placed on his forehead and he snapped out of it. The son of Hades jumped, breathing heavily and now sitting on the bed. He looked all around himself, looking for the monsters that had almost eaten him raw.

There was nothing anymore, nothing but Clovis. Clovis whose face was as sleepy as usual; his eyelids were making a big effort to stay open. He stared at Nico with those big dark eyes of his, worried. It was obvious to Nico that he was responsible of waking Clovis up, and the little voice inside his head reprimanded him for being such a bother.

“I need you to get out of bed.” He said slowly after a few seconds had passed, expecting Nico to be able to process the words. “You can’t stay there or you’ll drift away again.”

Clovis reached for Nico’s Mythomagic blanket that had fallen while he was sleeping. When Clovis placed it on his lap, Nico was glad to have it back. 

_Okay_ , he thought, not noticing that he hadn’t said it out loud. Nico slid out of bed, blinking as reality returned to its regular not blurry state.

“It’s morning already so I’m gonna go grab us some food, alright?” Clovis said, straightening his pajamas as best as he could; no one would really care about a Hypnos kid going around the camp in them anyway. “Wash your face while I’m gone. Everything is okay now, don’t worry.”

The son of Hypnos kept reassuring him until he was sure he was okay, at least for now. It had been a while since Nico had been treated this way. He did not like feeling like a kid who was scared of silly nightmares, but time had let him allow treatment like this sometimes.

“Hmm yeah, I can do that.” He muttered, running his nails over the blanket.

Clovis nodded and, after a second glance, he left the cabin. Nico did as he was told, slowly, but he got the job done.

“Stop doing this.” He said at his reflection on the mirror. “You keep worrying him, just… stop.”

His reflection frowned right back at him, and then he heard footsteps. Nico peeked out of the bathroom doorframe; it was Clovis, his arms full of all sorts of breakfast foods.

“They let me bring a lot this time.” Clovis said with a smile on his face when he spotted Nico.

 _See? He's not angry at you, he seems happy._ Whispered the part of him that had hope in finding happiness.

“They did, and it’s dripping all over the floor.” He pointed out, approaching the other boy.

“Then hurry up and help me eat!”

“Gladly.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had this chapter sitting there for months, so I gave it the finishing touches and bam here you go. The next one will be short but fluffy, don't worry.


End file.
